Microsoft looks set to respond to Sony’s recent PS4 unveiling, with industry experts predicting an Xbox 720 launch event will be help in April.

With the two giants of the console gaming market seemingly set to duke it out with rivalling next-gen gamers, latest reports have suggested that this week’s PS4 launch event has prompted Microsoft to show its hand with the company widely expected to officially reveal the Microsoft 720 in April.

Citing unnamed “publishing and development sources,” gaming specialist CVG has claimed that Microsoft will host its own one-off media event in “early April” with the company expected to confirm its own PS4 rival. Although it is not known to what degree the next-gen Xbox will be showcased, the reports added: “It is expected that discussion about future tech would be an inevitability.”

Despite Sony confirming the PS4’s existence alongside the announcement of a 2013 holiday season PS4 release date, the Japanese manufacturer failed to show the waiting world what the PS4 will look like, a pitfall that has caused 52 per cent of British gamers feel “disappointed” by the PS4 launch. In order to avoid similar issues, it is possible that Microsoft will show off the shell of its device at the upcoming Xbox 720 launch event.

With reports suggesting that Sony’s PS4 launch has cause Microsoft to rush its next-gen console, CVG has quoted a “senior Sony official who asked not to be named” in stating that the PS4 release “at first caught Microsoft off-guard.”

Suggesting Microsoft has been shaken by the newly launched PlayStation 4, the insider source added: “We definitely ruffled some feathers.”

Although Microsoft has yet to offer any confirmation as to the existence of an Xbox 720 console, latest Xbox 720 rumours have suggested that, like the PS4, the console will feature 8GB of RAM as well as the newly remodelled Kinect 2 motion gaming peripheral and a raft of new social and group gaming options.

With Microsoft widely expected to showcase a selection of new Xbox 720 games alongside its future console, recent reports suggested the device will land alongside four new Microsoft Xbox 720 IPs, including the “next big entertainment franchise.”

Leaked via an insider source, Microsoft Studios Senior Product Manager and Planner, Jonathan Browne recently confirmed that he has taken four completely new and as yet unannounced IPS “from the very early concept phase through green light to production.”

Have you been holding off for an Xbox 720 unveiling before deciding on whether to plump for a new PS4? Let us know which console you are most looking forward to via the TrustedReviews Twitter and Facebook feeds or through the comment boxes below.